Be Careful of Dark and Lonely Roads at Night

TITLE: The Girl in the Green Silk Gown (Ghost Roads #2)
AUTHOR:  Seanan McGuire
PUBLISHER: DAW
PUBLISHING DATE: July 17, 2018

FROM GOODREADS:
Once and twice and thrice around,
Put your heart into the ground.
Four and five and six tears shed,
Give your love unto the dead.
Seven shadows on the wall,
Eight have come to watch your fall:
One’s for the gargoyle, one’s for the grave,
And the last is for the one you’ll never save.
 
For Rose Marshall, death has long since become the only life she really knows.  She’s been sweet sixteen for more than sixty years, hitchhiking her way along the highways and byways of America, sometimes seen as an avenging angel, sometimes seen as a killer in her own right, but always Rose, the Phantom Prom Date, the Girl in the Green Silk Gown.

The man who killed her is still out there, thanks to a crossroads bargain that won’t let him die, and he’s looking for the one who got away.  When Bobby Cross comes back into the picture, there’s going to be hell to pay—possibly literally.

Rose has worked for decades to make a place for herself in the twilight.  Can she defend it, when Bobby Cross comes to take her down?  Can she find a way to navigate the worlds of the living and the dead, and make it home before her hitchhiker’s luck runs out?
               
There’s only one way to know for sure.

Nine will let you count the cost:
All you had and all you lost.
Ten is more than time can tell,
Cut the cord and ring the bell.
Count eleven, twelve, and then,
Thirteen takes you home again.
One’s for the shadow, one’s for the tree,
And the last is for the blessing of Persephone. 

MY THOUGHTS: I knew last month when I picked up "Sparrow Hill Road"  I would be continuing the series soon (plus I had an arc that was about to expire so I was on a timeline).  However, despite that, this is a book that I couldn't wait to read.  "The Girl in the Green Silk Gown" picks up where the first book in the series leaves off.  Rose Marshall is still haunting the highways and trying to stay away from Bobby Cross, the man who initially killed her on that cold and dark night so long ago.  This time around, Bobby is hot on her tracks and due to something that happens early on in the book, Rose is in more danger than ever.  She also has to join forces with an individual who once tried to banish her ghost forever, so that makes for some interesting dynamics.

I don't want to give too much away since this is a sequel.  I will say that once again, I feel in love with the world McGuire created as well as many of her characters.  I will also note that this book is much more linear than the previous one and is a much easier read.  If the formatting of "Sparrow Hill Road" has you doubting picking this one up, don't.  I think you'll be pleasantly surprised once you dive in.  I am still seriously in love with Gary, and I don't know if another book in this series is planned, but if so, I'll be jumping on that bandwagon as soon as I find out.

I received this book from the Penguin First to Read program in exchange for an honest review.

MY RATING: 5 PAWS